I try to keep the majority of the food we eat healthy, baking goodies from scratch with real ingredients, but I like to be able to have (and give to my kids) a treat now and again. I’ve mentioned before that I avoid HFCS, hydrogenated oils and food dyes, especially for my daughter (who is more sensitive to them.) Enter the Bzzagent campaign for Unreal candy.

I try to buy natural products for my kids whenever possible, but there really hasn’t been room in the budget to “green up” my own health & beauty routine. Tom’s of Maine Wicked Fresh Toothpaste contains fluoride (which I know some people avoid) and also contains sodium lauryl sulfate. It does not contain alcohol, or any artificial ingredients. It’s easy to find in “big box” stores nationwide, and it’s available in both Cool Peppermint and Spearmint Ice flavors.

Tom’s of Maine is cruelty free, with no animal testing or animal ingredients, no artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives. They share every ingredient, it’s purpose and it’s source on their website. Sustainable practices are a priority for their business, and they maximize the recycled content and recyclability of their packaging. They dedicate 5% (12 days) of employee time to volunteering, and 10% of their profits go to human and environmental goodness.

My daughter, husband and I used the sample size boxes, which were all cool peppermint flavor.

The toothpaste had a natural looking color, slightly gritty texture, and a natural, almost herbal-y (not sure how else to put that!) mint flavor.

After I brushed, my teeth didn’t have quite the same slick clean feeling that I’m used to, but after I flossed and used my mouthwash, they felt very clean. I didn’t notice any extended freshening though! The suggested retail price for a 5.2 ounce tube is $4.19. I’ve been CVSing (yeah, I used it as a verb) for about three years now, so I haven’t paid any “real” money for toothpaste since before then. The Tom’s of Maine toothpaste really isn’t much more than other brands, but for someone not used to paying for toothpaste, it’s a lot!!

Giveaway: I am sending the full size, 5.2 ounce tube to one of my readers. Here’s how to enter: All entries go in the form below. Simply enter your name and email address. Post will be updated with the # of entries received. I’d love for you to leave a comment, I’m always interested to hear what products others use. Keep in mind that comments don’t count as entries. I will accept entries until Monday, November 22nd, 2010 at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. This is a short one. I will select a winner using random.org’s true random number generator and notify him/her by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is chosen. View my giveaway rules page for complete details. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.Entries as of November 22nd at giveaway close: 78https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dGY2S3NyQ2dKM0hqdnJmNDB5Qnd6Z1E6MQ

FTC Compliance: I received the above samples at no charge as a Bzzagent. All opinions are my own.

Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 11, 7 and 4 year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. Read More »